Shifting focus | Saturday, February 14th
Philadelphia Union's first match of consequence in 2026 is quickly approaching, and on Saturday, the team began their four day build up to the action with a 10am session in Clearwater.
On February 18th, the team will begin their 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Campaign against Trinidad and Tobago's Defence Force, returning to the tournament for the first time since 2024 with an away match in the Carribean.
"Now, we start focusing with full power and energy on Defence Force. It's a game not to be taken lightly," Carnell said. "We all know this, and we've been trying to relay this message to the boys, and trying to create a game plan and way of playing against a team that has nothing to lose.”
When the team departs for the trip on Monday, it'll be a new experience for many. For the majority of Philadelphia Union's 2026 squad, this will be their first time competing in the tournament. For longtime goalkeeper and team captain, that's not the case.
He, along with teammates Alejandro Bedoya, Olivier Mbaizo, Nathan Harriel, Quinn Sullivan, Jesus Bueno, and Jeremy Rafanello know what to expect from the tournament, as the team particpated in 2021, 2023, and 2024, reaching the semifinals twice, and the quarterfinals once.
“It's definitely going to be a difficult game, and a difficult place to play. Champions Cup always brings out a different feeling, so we're just trying to share that with the guys," Blake said.
"The vibe in the camp has been really good. We have grown since, since Spain, which is important. So now we're about to start for real, and looking forward to it, and I think we're ready to go."
From a veteran perspective, Blake is pleased with what he's seen so far in cam. Recently signed players are working hard to find their footing in the team's scheme, and more tenured players are helping them do so. For him, the hard work they've over the past month will be essential in making a run in the tournament.
"The new guys coming in, they've settled in quite quickly – the more experienced guys in the group have helped those guys to integrate, and they've hit the ground running, and it's our job to help them. Because of that, I think that we have a pretty good chance to go there and show what we can do," Blake said.
A weekend welcome | Friday, February 13th, 2026
Carnell switched things up on Friday, rearranging the team's typical daily preseason schedule to accomodate a training in the afternoon.
After post-lunch film, the team headed to the fields for a lighter 3:30pm session and soccer tennis.
A highlight of the day was the return of striker Bruno Damiani -- he'd been back home in Uruguay securing his required paperwork since splitting off from the group while departing from Spain.
Upon arrival, he was greeted by teammates old and new, including Agustín Anello, who he'd played with at Boston River.
One week in | Wednesday, February 12th, 2026 -Thursday, February 13th
Wednesday was another perfect weather day in Clearwater with clear skies and 70 degree temps. The morning after their preseason finale agaisnt CF Montreal, the Boys in Blue returned Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex for matchday +1 and re-gen sessions split between the two fields at the facility.
Between league meetings and team meals, the boys took every chance to soak up the sun at the hotel, throwing a football, playing volleyball, or simply walking on the beach.
As the sun set, Carnell requested for the team to meet on the sand, as he had organized another team activity for the group.
This time, rather than a competitve outing like paintball or go karting, the team had the opportunity to stretch and unwind togetherm with an hour-long sunset yoga class right by the water.
Afterwards, Nate Harriel, Andrew Rick, Jeremy Rafanello, and Ben Bender took a drive back to training fields to host a clinic for local youth soccer club Clearwater Chargers with Visit St. Pete-Clearwater.
The four players spent time with each age group, participating in drills, answering questions, and signing autographs for the admiring young athletes.
The annual clinic is one near and dear to Harriel -- he grew up in Oldsmar, Florida, and he played for the Clearwater Chargers before he was recruited to the Philadelphia Union Academy in 2018.
Thursday was a well-deserved off day. While some players chose to relax around the hotel, others spent the day on the water, waking up early to go fishing.
Matchday vs CF Montreal | Tuesday, February 10th, 2026
"I take away a really good first half performance. I think you could see a lot of things we've been working on in preseason come off, and when we do it right, it looks really good and really dangerous," Head Coach Bradley Carnell said on Tuesday evening.
Philadelphia Union's fifth and final friendly matchday of their preseason schedule against CF Montreal was a very chippy one from start to finish, and although it ended 4-2 in favor of their opponent, there were still positive moments of note.
17 players saw meaningful minutes, including the team's newest additions. 23-year-old winger Agustin Anello, in particular, made his friendly debut in Blue and Gold, appearing in the starting lineup just hours after the club announced his signing. In his first shift with his new teammates, he made an immediate impact, assisting one of Milan Iloski's two goals on the night.
"He showed a couple of good touches, that he's really smart in and around the opponent box, his dribbling capabilities, his crossing capabilitiy," Carnell said.
"Expecting for him to flourish and move on in a good way, and hopefully get up to speed very quickly in terms of minutes and progressions."
Anello played a 45 minute shift, while five of his teammates competed for a full 90 for the first time this year. The tune-up marked their last competitive action before their first match of consequence against Defence Force -- on Presidents' Day, the team is set to travel to Trinidad and Tobago ahead of their Concacaf Champions Cup opener on the 18th.
When asked what his team's final days of preseason to come without a friendly could look like, Carnell said this:
"Guys have been working really hard. They've emptied the tanks. So, tomorrow we'll do a regen training for one group and do our usual match day plus one for the other. Then on Thursday we'll, we'll take a day off and let them recoup and regenerate before we'll start preparing our usual cycle. It now begins, and we're really excited, excited about the Champions Cup."
Matchday -1 vs CF Montreal | Monday, February 9th, 2026
Monday brought the warmest weather of preseason, and the Philadelphia Union took advantage of that with a longer than usual matchday -1 session at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex.
Afterwards, Head of nutrition Marissa Gaab treated the team to a post-session pick-me-up, organizing for a coffee and smoothie truck to park at the fields -- a hit among both players and staff.
Another new face officially joined the group in Florida. After weeks of rumours about his transfer from Uruguay's Primera División, the team welcomed in the 23-year-old winger Agustin Anello, whose signing was made official on Tuesday morning.
In his introductory interview at the hotel after training, the U.S. Youth international shared that he'd been closely following the Union during their Supporters' Shield-winning campaign because of his relationship with Bruno Damiani, who was his teammate at Boston River in 2024.
"Incredibly, I followed you guys because I played with Bruno so, obviously, I would see his stories and that the team was doing good," Anello said.
"So, unconciously, I followed you guys throughout the whole year, so it was cool when it came up that I could come here."
Super Bowl Sunday! | Sunday, February 8th, 2026
Happy Super Bowl Sunday from preseason in Clearwater! While the excitement doesn't quite match what the boys brought this time last year on the day of the big game in anticipation of the Philadelphia Eagles vs Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans, the team still arrived to training at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex with energy. Unsurprisingly, those who commandeered control of the speaker queued upbeat tunes from none other than Super Bowl Halftime performer Bad Bunny to get the vibes going.
The 60-minute and 30-minute groups from Saturday's friendly against Tampa Bay Rowdies split off for the re-gen training, with the former prioritizing recovery while the latter played a more intense session. Lunch was waiting for them at the facility at the training's conclusion -- along with a fleet of vans for another surprise team bonding activity.
Over his first year and change at the helm of the Philadelphia Union, Carnell has built a reputation for organizing togetherness activities meant to foster a positive locker room culture, and this training camp has been no different. In Spain, the group go karted, and here in Florida, the selected activity was paintball -- a highly requested team favorite.
After a long day competing on a different kind of field, Carnell made team dinner optional so the team could catch the Super Bowl's kickoff.
Friendy matchday vs Tampa Bay Rowdies | Saturday, February 7th, 2026
"I think from the first game we had in Spain all the way till now, we've progressed so, so muchM Jeremy Rafanello said after playing his first full match 2026.
“We've always talked about the mountains we climb every single day. We've really climbed those mountains, and there's still so many more to climb. So, I think building off of this, and then building off another Montreal preseason game, and then Concacaf Champions Cup Trinidad, it'll be a really good start, and I'm really looking forward to the season.”
The countdown to the start of the 2026 season continue – exactly two weeks before the team’s MLS season opener against D.C. United on the road, the Philadelphia Union played another training camp friendly, this time on American soil.
On Saturday evening, the Boys in Blue took on local USL Championship side Tampa Bay Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium on the scenic St. Petersburg waterfront in an open door friendly, finishing the traditional 90-minute contest with a 2-0 result.
"It was a very important shift for us. Getting back from Spain and now training a couple days here in Clearwater against a very good opponent, you credit to them. They gave us a couple of challenges, which is good -- this is what you want in preseason," Carnell said.
The first XI was a young one, with Jesus Bueno sporting the captain's armband and breaking down the pregame huddle to kick off the action. His groupi kept it scoreless through their shift, in part thanks to a lights-out showing from Homegrown keeper Andrew Rick between the posts.
Also of note, the team’s most recent signing, 23-year-old Colombian midfielder Geiner Martinez, affectionately nicknamed "G", made his debut in blue and gold, subbing on for Olwethu Makhanya to play a 30-minute shift with teammates he’d met just three days prior.
"He hasn't been in a regular routine since around November, so we have to be really careful with his progression, but I'm glad we got 30 out of Geiner, and we'll progress from there," Carnell said after the match.
"It's valuable being within the group, you can see his physical tools, and we'll keep on filing, developing, and making sure he's ready to come match day one."
Around the 62nd minute mark, Carnell sent on a fresh batch of players for the last 30 minute shift -- replacing all but Jeremy Rafanello, who was the only player to compete for the entire 90.
The second group was a more veteran mix featuring a handful of last year’s starting crew, with the exception of Philadelphia Union Academy products turned Union II players Jordan Griffin and Kellan LeBlanc, who played their first-ever first-team minutes.
Less than 10 minutes after the 10 came on, longtime team leader Alejandro Bedoya found the team’s first goal of the match with a finish from the center of the box.
Danley Jean Jacques scored the second off a cross from Frankie Westfield, securing the 2-0 result.
“The energy from, I guess, the start and all the way through the 60 minutes for that first squad was great, then he second squad came in and put the icing on the cake,” Rafanello said.
Matchday -1 vs Tampa Bay Rowdies | Friday, February 6th, 2026
Friday brought another matchday -1 for the Boys in Blue, this time in Florida. On Saturday, the Philadelphia Union will take on USL Championship's Tampa Bay Rowdies for another important training camp test.
The match is the local side's first of their preseason schedule, and they'll host it on their scenic home pitch at Al Lang Stadium. The venue, which was once a baseball park, sits on the St. Petersburg waterfront, and it'll welcome in spectators for the open door friendly -- click here for tickets!
Some Philly faces will be missing from the matchday roster tomorrow as Japhet Sery Larsen and Bruno Damiani have been away from the group since departing from Spain. In their absence, Carnell plans to pull from second team depth for the occasion.
"It's a little disjointed right now with with guys traveling in and out the country -- we're still waiting for Jeff to join us. He's finalizing off his paperwork. Then we've got Bruno still to join us as well. But it's normal for this time of year, unfortunately," Carnell said after training.
"We're a little thin, but we have Union II here, and we'll bring a couple guys up as part of our roster, just to have the game day experience with us."
It'll be business as usual for the rest of the team, and with a traditional 90-minute match, Carnell says he plans to split his two shifts of XIs 60-30.
Day 2 in Clearwater | Thursday, February 5th, 2026
It was a brisk start to the day with windy conditions in the area but Head Coach Bradley Carnell and his staff warmed the boys up quick with energetic 3v1s then small-sided drills to open the session.
The group trained for about two hours before closing with a lift on the pitch led by Head of Performance and Innovation Ryan Cotter.
Meanwhile back in Chester, Philadelphia Union radio play-by-play announcer Dave Leno and longtime broadcaster and MLS match analyst Danny Higginbotham got together for an in-depth preview of the season to come. With less than three weeks until the start of Philly's 2026 campaign, the pair dove into the team's offseason changes, provided position group previews, and more -- check out their commentary below!
First session in the Sunshine State | Wednesday, February 4th, 2026
Just like that, the second leg of Philadelphia Union preseason is underway! After a morning flight down south from Philly, the Union's first and second team touched down in the sunshine state for their annual preseason trip to Clearwater, Florida.
The team was greeted with 60 degree weather, clear skies, and an upbeat welcome party from Visit St. Pete Clearwater in the hotel lobby upon arrival. Over the next 10 days, the Philadelphia Union will continue working toward the start of the 2026 season with daily training sessions and two friendlies – one against Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, February 7th and one against CF Montreal on Tuesday the 10th.
It all leads up to the start of their Concacaf Champions Cup match against Trinidad and Tobago's Defence Force on February 18th, then their MLS opener at D.C United shortly after on February 21st.
It’s been a week of recovery so far for the Boys in Blue -- the team landed back in the states on Saturday night, and just four days later they were back together on the pitch, holding their first session of Leg 2 at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex, their staple preseason homebase.
The Wednesday evening training began with a team huddle to introduce the team's newest addition, 23-year-old Colombian defender Geiner Martinez.
"Talk about humility, passion, and hunger for growth, development and getting better every single day," Carnell said of his players' new teammate.
"We're really excited about him working with us."
Martinez met his teammates for the first time during the travel from Philadelphia to Florida, and trained with the group for the first time just a few hours after.
